Still Some Fears to Overcome
by SpicyMeatball
Summary: NiaxRex: When they first arrived in Fonsett Nia pointed out some kids jumping off the cliff-side revealing how she was afraid of heights. Now that the main adventure is complete with some confessions made, maybe it's time to conquer one last fear to win the heart of a certain salvager. Some story spoilers, it's a one-shot right now but maybe I'll make it something more.


AN: Just wanted to say thanks for reading in advance, this is my first fic of possibly many depending if people want me to continue my writing and ideas. So hope you enjoy.

This is set Post Game so spoilers if you haven't beaten the game yet.

,,,

With Malos defeated, Alrest was finally at peace with a new continent to explore. Morag and Zeke had returned to their respective homelands to discuss territorial matters. Tora and Poppi ventured back home to Torigoth to spend some well deserved time with his thought to be dead Daddapon. Nia, afraid of returning to her homeland alone with her scarring memories, had asked Rex if she and Dromarch could stay with him back in Letheria; of course with his big goofy grin he had accepted wholeheartedly.

A couple of days had passed, our heroes took their well deserved period of peace to relax and catch up. Aunt Corrine was ecstatic to provide them rooms in her house, mostly to catch up with her dear Rex, which they were more than grateful for.

Pyra spent most of her days helping in the kitchen learning more exquisite recipes to further improve her impressive skills. Rex had gone back to salvaging with Gramps to provide some income that Corrine insisted he'd save instead of paying rent. Mythra spent her days either attempting to cook with her sister, smuggle deserts away from the rest of the party, or traveling across Letheria's islands to battle monsters to make sure she didn't get rusty. Dromarch was using his expertise in botany to collect more ingredients for Pyra; when he wasn't scavenging for flowers he spent his afternoons entertaining the local letherian children, proving them rides on his back and telling stories of their grand adventure.

But what about Nia? While she was happy being able to find people who accepted her and they were the closest thing that she could call family, she felt that something was still missing. And it bothered her how she couldn't quite understand just exactly what it was. She'd lay awake at night and just stare at the ceiling as her mind searched for the answer. The room was mostly silent, only the sounds of Dromarch's light breathing and the calm wind breeze from her open window had showered her ears.

She huffed and turned to her side and she then realized just how large her bed felt, how she longed to be held and feel loved. And not just by anyone. By a certain salvager that was around her age that was just literally across the hall. To be frank, she had never been able to spend any alone time with Rex; everytime he returned home after salvaging he'd always be swooped up by either Pyra or Mythra and always give them his full attention. That's not to say he was ignoring her, they always conversed during dinner time together as she always made it her goal to sit by his side. But it just wasn't enough, she needed to be noticed, to be heard, to be loved. Nia always told herself that she was fine with Rex's answer back at the Spirit Crucible Elypse, but she knew damn well it was a lie. She was not the type of girl to just accept her fate, she was a fighter and a stubborn one at that.

Rex wasn't exactly the most aware individual. Hell he was only just a kid, but still the driver of the aegis nonetheless. No amount of foresight would be enough for him to realize Nia's flirtations. She would have to tell him straight up, without Pyra or Mythra to steal her man from her. But how exactly was she going to get him alone?

It was already a frightening thought of rejection the first time around. Then it hit her like a charging behemoth. She could use that stupid cliff diving activity she saw when they first arrived to Letheria, of course it was stupid to her but it meant a lot to him. Killing two birds with one stone as she'll have him to herself while putting him in a good mood ready for a confession.

With her plan set, she scrambled for paper and a writing utensil and set to plant them in his room the second he left in the morning.

,,,

"Ugh what an awful day…" Rex grumbled as he had trudged back home from the Letherian Trader outpost. First he had messed up his initial dismount, then he had a run in with an Aligo which had broken his good cylinder set. The time was 4pm, he was tired and defeated; poor Rex just wanted to skip dinner to avoid retelling his day. He slipped past Pyra and went straight to his room and locked the door. He released a breath of relief as he placed his back against the wall. He slowly made his way to his bed and layed face first onto the mattress. His moment of relaxation was quickly cut short as he had heard the crumpling of paper underneath his body. "Huh, what's this now?", the tired salvager quickly swooped the paper from underneath and scanned it's contents.

"Oi Rex, I haven't been able to spend some time with you for a while now… I'm not really good at this whole sort of secret letter kind of shite. But I'm hoping you'd want to meet me at the that cliff we saw when we first arrived to Letheria later today at 5"

~Signed Nia

Rex let his mind race about the note that Nia had mysteriously placed in his bedroom. Of course his first thought was "Wait we already spent time together at dinner everyday what does she mean she hasn't been able to see me?", but he had let that sly as he looked for the time, it read 4:57pm. "Oh crap! I can't keep her waiting!" he exclaimed as he grabbed his helmet and trusty hookshot and slid out the window to make sure he wouldn't be abrupted by Pyra or Mythra.

,,,

Nia sat the edge of the cliff, her feet dangling as she kicked waiting for Rex to show. Her heart was racing as she was thinking of her plan again. "Okay calm down it's only childish Rex, you have nothing to be afraid of. Well I suppose you're more afraid of the cliff than him, at least we'll get his atten-", her train of thought was cut short as her ears twitched. Rex's hurried steps had alerted her of his upcoming arrival. "Alright… Showtime!" She inwardly thought as she turned to greet her love interest.

"Hi Nia, how ya been? You uh.. Wanted to see me?" He said with a big grin while scratching the back of his head.

"Uh good… have a lucky day with gramps today?" Rex's eyes widened a little as today's awful mishaps replayed in his mind. Staring down to avoid letting her see his disappointment he just quickly shook it off as just "okay" and sat next to her on the ledge of the cliff. The two sat in an awkward silence as they stared into the cloud sea.

Rex finally spoke up to Nia's relief, "So… what did you want to see me for?" he turned to her and awaited his answer.

She sighed and continued to look straight. "We've been through quite a lot haven't we? We... I mean you've changed so many people for the better, you bring out the best in people, even if you still act like a damn child. But most importantly… you've helped me conquer my fears, if you never stopped me from leaving back in Gormott, I… I don't know if I would've kept my secret to my grave. Look I'm not good at this mushy crap but the point is I just wanted to thank you for helping me conquer my fears." She kept staring down into the cloud sea to avoid letting him see her flustered face.

Meanwhile Rex was just let speechless by her confession. Of course he hadn't forgotten her first confession in the Spirit Crucible Elyps, but he never put more thought into it than friendship love. But here she was thanking him for just being him, for just accepting her and never giving up on her. He had remembered how upset he was when she sacrificed herself to the Mor Ardain soldiers so he could escape with Pyra. He hadn't realized he was just staring blankly into her eyes until she finally called for his name.

"Oh uh sorry, I guess I never really noticed that just being myself could help others, and if I'm being honest I'm glad I could help you out the most. You mean a lot to me after all!" He said confidently as he put his hand behind his head.

"I'm glad you wrote that letter to me, you know I finally understand what you mean by us not spending time together, it's a nice feeling." He mused as he got comfy on the cliff side.

Nia's heart fluttered hearing him say how much she meant to him. She had nearly forgot the entire reason why she wrote the damn letter in the first place. "Speaking of conquering fears, the reason why I asked you to meet me here was because…" She cut herself off to unzip her signature yellow jumpsuit to reveal her swimsuit that was hiding underneath. It's blue hue matched that of Rex's old salvager suit and hugged her curves well, causing Rex to stare leaving her both overjoyed and embarrassed.

"Oi you gonna keep staring with your mouth open looking like an arse or are ya gonna say somethin'?" This quickly brought him back to reality to which he quickly stared away the ground and apoligzed.

"So mind telling me what this is all about?" He said while still taking light glances at her figure in hopes she wouldn't notice.

"Yo remember when we first arrived to Fonsett? We were standing down there," She quickly guided him to stand aside her as she pointed out their old arrival point. "There were these kids, poor little bastards were jumping off the cliff and…"

"Oh yeah! I remember and you said how much you hated how the cloud sea felt! Then Dromarch pointed out your fear of heights."

"And then you tried to nearly throw me off the damn cliff yourself"

"Hey I was only joking of course! You'd probably claw me to death before we even got the top!" And with that exchange they both laughed and continued staring into the cloud sea until Rex finally understood what she trying to do.

"Oh! You plan to jump off now to show how you're not afraid anymore is that it?!"

"Well… yeah sorta."

"Sorta?"

"Just because I said I'll do it doesn't mean I'm still afraid of bloody heights!"

"Aha! That's my Nia, always a tough talker but secretly a kid inside just like me!"

"Oh shut it you! Before I throw your arse over and head off to bed! *breathes in* Alright I'm ready." She tried her best to sound confident as she stood on the edge of the cliff. Her heartbeat was rising tremendously, her vision was getting blurry as she was starting to realize maybe this was a stupid idea after all.

Seconds turned to minutes as Rex got more concerned at the Gormotti statue in front of him. He slowly made his way to his side to make sure she was okay.

"You know you don't have to jump if you're afraid. It's definitely not a hobby for everyone." He said with a warm smile to make sure she didn't feel pressured to go through with it.

"N-no I gotta do this for myself. It's just way harder to jump off than I was expecting, that's all!"

Sensing her nervous stance Rex had an idea to see if he can not only grow closer with Nia but possibly even help her make the final jump. "Oh I know! What if I jump with you. I do this on the daily from even bigger heights, I bet you'll feel safer knowing I'm with you yeah?"

"You're just using this as an excuse to laugh at me on the way down!"

"Well I would be lying if I denied that, but I'm serious! I want to help you out. I won't force you to jump of course." He walked to her side and stuck his hand out. She gave him an annoyed glare before staring at his open palm.

"Screw it… on 3 then got it. Don't you go surprising me now.", he only nodded and gave her a warm smile as their hands intertwined.

"1…"

"2…"

"3!"

"OH BLOODY HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!"

Turns out Rex's support still wasn't enough. The second she felt she was no longer touching the ground Nia no longer held Rex's hand. Rather she tightly clung her entire body onto his. The peacing evening sounds of Letherian wildlife was abrupted by Nia's fearful yell as they made their descent into the cloud sea. Finally after a loud splash, all was back to normal.

"Ah I love a good dive, dontcha agree? Huh? Nia" The poor Gormotti was still scared stiff, eyes wide open, and still wrapped her entire body against his. Rex of course felt awful for making her go through with the jump so he did the only thing that he thought would help. Seeing as she already technically was holding him close, with her having her legs wrapped around his waist in fear, he did what he figured was necessary to snap her out of it. He wrapped his arms around the terrorized girl and held her close. His burrowed his head into the crevice of her neck and did his best to comfort her.

And in that moment he had forgotten he was even in the cloud sea, though he had actually been to Elysium, it was nothing compared to this moment he was sharing with Nia. She smelled of cream and orange, which only tantalized his nostrils. This new sensation of touch and smell brought a flood of new emotion to the salvager. He not only was in bliss but he craved more, he took his head out of her neck and stared into her bronze eyes.

Though he had been salvaging for years, discovering new areas and treasures, none of it could compare to the beauty he was staring at in front of him. It was as if her eyes were an open door to her soul, to her emotions, to her love. It was at this moment where Rex finally understood the meaning of Nia's confession. He never really had taken the time to notice her features, how much he adored the way her yellow ribbons compliment her eyes, and the placement of her white makeup. She was absolutely beautiful and he never took the time to notice her, after all Pyra was always on his mind and getting her to elysium was his main priority. But now here he was holding her close and he started to put two in two. Gormotti Driver girl who is around your age 500 year old aegis who's always been viewed as a nurturing sister to you.

Nia, by this had recovered from her state of morbid fear, was just in awe that the man she loved was staring at her so intently. Though she was loving all the attention and especially that two were the closest you can get with a PG-13 rating. She knew she'd have to speak up eventually despite her wanting to savor the moment more.

"Take a picture why don't ya, I'm sure you'd want the moment to last longer" This quickly threw Rex out of his trance as he quickly stopped hugging Nia and awkwardly started scratching behind his head.

"Heh, sorry. You just looked really out of it and I…"

"Don't worry about it. It worked didn't it. And I kinda really liked it", she mumbled the last part.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

Rex decided not to push and chose to change the subject. "So… how was it, being able to conquer your fears!"

"Awful and we are never doing this again."

"Aw really? I dunno, I kinda liked having you wrapped against me while you screamed in fear"

Nia's ears drooped as her eyebrows raised in concern causing Rex to realize his major error in wording.

"WAIT WAIT! That came out very wrong!"

"*Sigh* Such a child… but I did enjoy being able to do with you Rex."

"Hey… Nia. Would you maybe want to do something together like this another time…?"

This quickly threw her off guard and got her eyes to bug out. "Wait you're really serious?!"

"I mean not cliff jumping, but I don't know, being with you here today made me realize something."

"A-a-and that would be" She said trying hardest to keep her cool.

"I guess during our entire adventure I was so caught up on getting Pyra and Mythra to Elysium, I never really…"

"Yeah you sure had your head up your arse on a one track mind."

"Hey! Look what I'm trying to say is Nia… I guess what I'm going for here is that I'm sorry…"

"You're… sorry?"

"For not noticing you! I just barely realized how much of a jerk I sounded at the Spirit Crucible Elypse. You poured your heart out and told us about your past then confessed your love to me and I didn't know what you meant and probably hurt you but I know it now Nia!"

She slowly swam towards him, rested her palm on his cheek and gave him a really warm smile.

"Rex, it's really not that big a'deal, you're starting to sound as dramatic as shellhead." 

The two shared a hearty laugh remembering all the failed escapades of their goofy teammate.

"But in all honesty, I want to make it up to you!"

"Well you can start by getting us out of the cloud sea, my delicate skin is starting to get pruney here."

Rex simply nodded and aimed his hookshot back to the edge of the shit. Once it clipped and he checked it was held firm he gestured for her to grab on."

"Aw still want to be touchy are you?"

Rex's quick blush only made her laugh as she held onto him tightly and whispered into his ear, "It's alright, even I can't get enough of myself sometimes." She giggled making Rex's heart soar at such an angelic sound.

Once they got back up on the mountain, they just stood in a peaceful knowing silence. Rex was even so bold to grab onto Nia's hand, to which she happily accepted. Afterwards they just started to converse with each other about their past, their interests, their plans for the future. They just kept talking and enjoying their time together until the sun was setting.

"It's a beautiful sight isn't it?" Nia said staring into the distance.

"Yeah I'm absolutely loving the view!" Rex said, though he wasn't staring at the sunset, he had his eyes on something more beautiful to him. Nia felt like she was being stared at and turned his admiring gaze.

"Oi you're not even paying attention to the sunset are you?" 

"I did say i wanted to make up for the lack of attention didn't I?"

"Oh you're such a cheesy bastard, I hope you know that." She giggled as she playfully hit his chest. Rex only responded by scooting closer to her and grabbing her hand. This quickly made Nia blush as knew what was coming next.

"Nia… I…"

"Shhh… Don't ruin the moment."

And with that their faces inched closer and closer. The second their lips met it sent chills down Rex's spine as fireworks went off in Nia's brain. She wrapped her arms behind his neck to deepen their kiss. Rex meanwhile wasn't expecting her to grab onto him so he fell onto her prematurely ending their embrace. He immediately stood up ready to apologize only to be interrupted by her giggling.

"You're not mad at me for falling?"

"Hehe, don't sweat it. I've always heard of first kisses being awkward. It wasn't that bad of a slip up you know."

"Would you mind if we tried it out again?"

Nia didn't respond as she quickly pounced him and smashed her lips against his. Rex of course didn't object as he wrapped his arms behind her back and savored the moment. After what felt like an eternity of bliss the two had to breathe eventually, so they finally let go and just stared intently into each other's eyes.

"I love you Rex."

"I.. love you too Nia"

And with that final exchange they stayed in each other's arms as the day ended. The ending of their time as only mere friends, and the start of their brand new relationship in this new world.

,,,

Well that was it! I randomly thought of this after I finished the main storyline. I hope you enjoyed my little precursor one shot. I don't know maybe I can turn this into a series of adventures in the new continent if requested.. I've had other one shot ideas so I might do those unless I get a lot of requests to continue this one. Maybe I'll make it a lemon eventually Idk. Well please rate and review. Writing ain't exactly my strong suit but I will accept all forms of criticism. Thanks for reading!


End file.
